One of the vivid episodes that completed the era of Romanov rule was the story of the murder of Rasputin. Photos of this extraordinary man, who continues to fill fearful hearts of superstitious people to this day, are given in our article. Despite the abundance of information about his life and death, interest in him does not dry out, and each next publication finds its readers. How did he deserve such attention of the descendants?
Mantid son of a Siberian coachman
The exact date of birth of Grigory Efimovich Rasputin, whose murder history is the topic of our article, is unknown, but it is most likely that this happened on January 9 (21), 1869. So, at least, it is indicated in the metric book of his native village of Pokrovsky, Tyumen county, Tobolsk province. He came from a simple coachman's family, and received no orderly education. He somehow overcame the diploma, traveling from an early age to holy places where monks taught him to read spiritual books.
Communicating closely with all kinds of pilgrims, who in those years could not be counted on Russian roads, he himself soon left his native home, and rushed together with them to seek "God's truth." Going thousands of miles and bowing to the main shrines of his fatherland, Grigory Efimovich came to Jerusalem, visiting the Athos monasteries along the way.
Elder Gregory
In 1903, Rasputin arrived in St. Petersburg, where, thanks to the mediation of the rector of the Theological Academy, Bishop Sergius (Stargorodsky) and a number of other clergymen, he was introduced as the holy elder to Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna. For the august family, his appearance came in handy, as the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Alexei, suffered from hemophilia (blood clotting disorder) and official medicine was powerless. Rasputin, possessing the gift of a healer, was the only one who could bring relief to the child.
Due to his natural abilities, Rasputin, quickly established himself in the role of the holy elder sent down by God to save the tsar’s son, acquired unlimited influence on Tsar Nicholas II and his crowned wife. By the way, it should be noted that at that time he was barely 35 years old, so he could be considered an old man only by religious status, but not by age.
Omnipotent favorite
Historians note that the main reason for the murder of Grigory Rasputin was the influence that, using proximity to the court, he had on the internal life of the Russian Empire and its foreign policy. Sometimes he did this in pursuit of personal interests, but more often he became a toy in the hands of the political adventurers and all kinds of crooks surrounding him.
Elder Gregory (as he was called in court circles) eventually became a literally omnipotent person. Addressing the emperor, and even more often the empress, with any, even the most absurd petitions, he passed them off as the will of God revealed to him, and did not receive any refusal. Thus, Rasputin pushed into the background most of the leading statesmen who were unable to withstand his harmful influence on the crowned couple.
The reaction of society to the adventures of the "holy elder"
It is quite clear that this state of affairs caused an extremely negative reaction both in court circles and among the advanced intelligentsia. If the former could not come to terms with the height of the situation, this newcomer and rootless insolence had ascended, while the latter pointed to the inevitability of catastrophic consequences for the state that fell into the hands of a religious impostor. With this, in fact, begins the story of the murder of Rasputin.
The general negative attitude towards the old man, among other things, was reinforced by the rampant way of life that he led when he ended up in the capital. The Tsar’s favorite, behind whom secret police surveillance was conducted, constantly became a defendant in the drunken fights, arranged by him in the most expensive restaurants of the city. In addition, he openly lied with many women, among whom, incidentally, were representatives of high society. Sometimes these ladies, fed up with life, were pushed into the arms of a drunken peasant by perverted voluptuousness, and sometimes they became victims of the skillfully constructed blackmail.
Great conspirators
Attempts by representatives of higher government circles to influence the tsar’s couple and bring it out of the influence of the elder invariably ended in failure, since in this case the attitude towards him of Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna was based not on reason, but on blind faith in his God’s election, about which everyone was broken reasonable arguments. This was the reason for the murder of Rasputin, since there were no other legal ways to eliminate it.
Gradually, the mood prevailing in the palace led to a conspiracy that finally took shape at the end of 1916. Five people became its participants, two of whom belonged to the highest capital circles. One of them was the cousin of the sovereign - Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovich Romanov, and the other - the richest man in Russia - Prince Felix Feliksovich Yusupov. In addition to them, the participants in the murder of Rasputin were: State Duma deputy V. M. Purishkevich, Preobrazhensky regiment officer S. M. Sukhotin and doctor S. S. Lazovert.
It should be noted right away that the information spread in recent years that, allegedly, the initiator and one of the participants in the assassination attempt was British intelligence agent Oswald Rainer, has no real basis. Despite the fact that Misty Albion was really interested in eliminating the old man (the British were afraid that under his influence the tsar might make peace with Germany and they would have to fight the Germans alone), there is no evidence that they are involved in the story of the murder of Rasputin.
Attempted assassination
The plan developed by the conspirators was extremely simple, and based on the unbridled voluptuousness of the royal favorite. The fact is that the "holy elder" for a long time and unsuccessfully solicited Yusupov's wife - Irina, who was considered one of the first beauties of St. Petersburg. A photo of the spouses is presented below. Using this circumstance, accomplices decided to lure him into the palace belonging to the prince and kill him there. The corpse was supposed to be lowered under the ice of a nearby channel.
Yusupov Palace, located in St. Petersburg at nab. Moika River, house 94 (his color photo is presented in the article), it was no coincidence that he was chosen as the site of the murder of Rasputin. Firstly, an invitation to one of the most aristocratic houses in Russia could not arouse suspicion among the victim, and secondly, nothing of what happened within his walls would have been publicized. In addition, upon completion of the case, it was convenient to get rid of the corpse by lowering it under the ice of a nearby channel.
Basement equipped for killing
In order to implement his plan, Felix Yusupov informed Rasputin several days before the murder that his wife, Irina, was ready to meet with him and would be waiting for him in her own palace late at night from December 16 to 17, 1916. Pretending to be a naive spouse, he even volunteered to personally call in on the old man, who then lived at ul. Gorokhovaya, d. 64 sq. 20, and personally bring him to a meeting place. As if by the way, Felix told the old man that he would soon leave them alone and retire on business. In reality, he sent Irina to Crimea in advance, from where she was supposed to return only after the attempt.
So, according to the plan, on the night of December 17, Yusupov, in his car, which was driven by one of the participants in the conspiracy - the doctor Lazovert, went to Gorokhovaya Street. In the interests of conspiracy, it was planned to carry out the plan in the basement (no shots could be heard from there), which shortly before that had been given the appearance of a small but very sophisticated socialite. They placed expensive furniture and laid the table on which the samovar stood, as well as a vase with cakes stuffed with potassium cyanide. A tray with wines and liquors complemented the serving.
Unexpected turn of events
Shortly after midnight, a car with two conspirators and their future victim drove into the gates of the palace on the Moika. The remaining participants in the attempt at this time were on the second floor, where, according to the agreement, they brought in a gramophone and made noise, simulating the presence of a large number of guests. The prince, apologizing to Rasputin, explained that at the moment his wife had guests, but they should soon disperse, and she would immediately go down to him. Waiting for her, he can have a good time with drinks and delicacies.
The calculation, based on the fact that the old man who loved cakes, tastes them, and will be instantly killed by potassium cyanide, was only half true. Rasputin really ate the proposed treat with pleasure, but, for some unknown reason, the poison did not have the slightest effect. This was contrary to common sense, and it seemed that the elder was patronized at that moment by unknown forces.
Mortal wound
After drinking Madeira, Rasputin became impatient, and the owner went upstairs, allegedly in order to hurry Irina. In reality, having discussed the situation, the accomplices made a decision, by all means, to bring the plan to the end. The prince left all the other persons involved in the murder of Rasputin upstairs, and with his browning in his hand, he rushed down the stairs.
Bursting into the room where the elder was, he shot at him from the threshold with his weapon, after which he fell to the floor and fell silent. Hearing the shot, the other conspirators also went downstairs. Doctor Lazovert stated that Rasputin was still alive, but would soon die, since a wound in his chest was fatal.
Murder committed
Further, the story of the murder of Rasputin takes on absolutely incredible traits. Not wanting to witness the agony of their victim, the conspirators again went upstairs, and there they began to wait for a fatal outcome. After some time, Felix Yusupov went down to the old man to check how things were going, and, entering the room, bent over his lifeless body.
He was ready to call the others to take the corpse out of the house with their help, when Rasputin, who had not shown any signs of life before that, opened his eyes wide, and jumping to his feet, he began screaming to strangle his enemy. Having barely escaped from his hands, the prince rushed up the stairs to help. The elder took advantage of this. Having jumped out of the room, and, having opened the outer door, he rushed to run through the yard, leaving blood stains on the snow. Shots rumbled right after him.
Two bullets fired by Purishkevich achieved their goal - one hit the victim’s neck and the other pierced the skull. Rasputin fell again, but continued to show signs of life. In a closed car, he was taken to the embankment of Malaya Nevka, and, using night deserts, they lowered him under the ice.
However, the mysterious story of the murder of Rasputin did not end there. When two days later his dead body was removed from the river, the examination showed that, even under water, he remained alive for at least 7 minutes. This fact, as well as the circumstances described above, to this day inspire superstitious people with fear of this outstanding personality.
Conclusion
Empress Alexandra ordered to temporarily bury the “innocently killed old man” in one of the remote sections of Tsarskoye Selo Park, and later transfer his body to a specially constructed mausoleum. However, history has made adjustments to its plans. The year of the Rasputin murder was the final stage of the reign of the Romanov dynasty, and two and a half months after the events described above, the Russian monarchy collapsed. The tsar, as is known, abdicated the throne, and the body of his favorite, Elder Gregory, was burned in the boiler room of the Polytechnic Institute.
The story of the murder of Rasputin, summarized in this article, did not have any serious consequences for the perpetrators and accomplices of the crime. Despite the severity of the crime, they did not suffer due punishment, since the situation by that time was extremely tense, both within the country and on the fronts of the First World War. The emperor and his crowned wife were simply not up to them. The august couple, together with all of Russia, stood in anticipation of much more terrible events.